The Wondrous Adornments of the Rulers of the Worlds

Chapter One, Part Two

 

5) Heavens of the First Dhyana (Great Brahmā Kings, etc.)

Sutra:

Moreover, Brahma King Sikhin gained a passage into liberation of universally dwelling in the bodhimandas of the ten directions, speaking Dharma there, and being pure and untainted in his actions.

Commentary:

Moreover, Brahma King Sikhin, whose name translates as “cowl,” is a pure Celestial King who gained a passage into liberation of universally dwelling throughout the Dharma Realm, in the bodhimandas of the ten directions. People who have listened to the sutras before will know what the ten directions are, but those who haven’t listened won’t. The ten directions are above, below, the four cardinal directions [north, south, east, west], and the four intermediary directions [northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest].

When Buddhas appear in the world, they establish bodhimandas or Way-places, that is, places for cultivating the Way. For instance, we have a Way-place here. Places where people apply effort on the Way are called Way-places. They are places for cultivating the Way and speaking Dharma there to teach and transform beings so that they can turn away from confusion and return to enlightenment, leave defilement and attain purity. And being pure and untainted in his actions. He speaks Dharma and personally practices pure dharmas, which are devoid of defiled attachments. Purity refers to the absence of defiled attachments. One with defiled attachments is not pure.

This Celestial King practices the dharma of “being pure and free of defiled attachments.” Defiled attachments include being selfish, seeking personal advantage, and being jealous and obstructive. If you are free of these faults and of greed, anger, and delusion, then you have no defiled attachments. Being free of defiled attachments, you can gain this passage into liberation, this dharma door of non-obstruction.

Sutra:

Brahma King Wisdom Light gained a passage into liberation of enabling all sentient beings to enter dhyana and remain in samadhi.

Commentary:

Brahma King Wisdom Light gained a passage into liberation of enabling all sentient beings to enter dhyana and remain in samadhi. This Brahma King has the light of wisdom. He can cause sentient beings to enter and remain in a state of dhyana samadhi. They take dhyana as their food and drink, and dwell constantly in samadhi. That’s the passage into liberation this Brahma King attained.

Sutra:

Brahma King Light of Wholesome Reflective Wisdom gained a passage into liberation of universally entering all inconceivable dharmas.

Commentary:

The next Brahma King is named Light of Wholesome Reflective Wisdom. There are three types of wisdom: wisdom derived from hearing, wisdom derived from reflection, and wisdom derived from cultivation. This King attained a radiant wisdom derived from reflection. He gained a passage into liberation of universally entering all inconceivable dharmas. Inconceivable dharmas are wonderful dharmas. Wonderful dharmas are inconceivable. If they could be conceived of, they wouldn’t be wonderful dharmas.

Those who attain this state know it themselves; there is no way to talk about it. “It’s just as when a person drinks water, he himself knows whether it is cold or warm.” Knowing and yet being unable to talk about it describes the patience with the nonarising of dharmas. This god attained this passage into liberation. Inconceivable dharmas are perfectly interpenetrating without obstruction. They are ineffably wonderful.

Sutra:

Brahma King Universal Cloud Sound gained a passage into liberation of entering all Buddhas’ oceans of sounds.

Commentary:

Every person has his own unique enlightenment and attainment to the Dharma. Each Brahma King also has his own state of enlightenment. The next Brahma King is named Universal Cloud Sound. He has attained the oceans of the Buddhas’ sounds, and his name is “Universal Cloud Sound” because he pervasively emits sounds like thunderclouds. He gained a passage into liberation of entering all the ten directions’ Buddhas’ oceans of sounds. We might know how to speak a human language, but we don’t know how to speak the language of dogs. We know how to speak English, but we might not know how to speak Japanese. And even if we master Japanese, we might not know German. In short, it’s not easy to master all languages. However, the Buddha’s speaking of Dharma covers all the oceans of languages. Every kind of being can understand the Buddha’s speech. People understand, and so do animals. Even bugs understand, because the Buddha enters the ocean of the languages of all beings.

This Brahma King has attained the samadhi of entering the oceans of sounds of all Buddhas. He has gained this passage into liberation and this state of nonobstruction.

Sutra:

Brahma King Freely Contemplating the Sounds and Speech in the World gained a passage into liberation of recollecting how the Bodhisattvas teach and transform all sentient beings with expedients.

Commentary:

The next Brahma King is named Freely Contemplating the Sounds and Speech in the World. He attained freedom and ease through observing all the languages and sounds of the world. Having attained the samadhi of languages and sounds, he gained a passage into liberation of recollecting. Recollecting is the opposite of forgetting. He recollects all dharmas. He recalls how the Bodhisattvas teach and transform all sentient beings with expedients. What are expedients? They are provisional, clever methods used on a temporary basis, not on a permanent, unchanging basis. Expedients may be appropriate at a certain time, but not at other times. Expedient dharmas must be applied according to the situation, just as medicine is dispensed according to the sickness. One speaks the Dharma according to each individual’s needs.

For example, people who are sick may be given arsenic. In Chinese, arsenic is also called “stone of credibility” and “people’s words.” Arsenic can poison people lethally. In tiny amounts, however, it is not fatal. If people take more than one qian [one-tenth of a Chinese ounce], they might die from it. But if they take less than one qian, it’s an extremely effective cure for many illnesses. Arsenic is basically poisonous, but if used in small amounts it can cure poisonous diseases.

That’s an example of an expedient method. It is basically harmful, but at the same time essential for curing certain illnesses. It must be used sparingly, however.

Expedients work that way. A certain method should basically not be used, but under certain circumstances, one must resort to that method. For instance, when the Buddha used his empty fist to save a child’s life, he was using an expedient method. When the Buddha was in the world, one day he saw an infant crawling toward a well and realized that the child was about to fall into it. At that point, if you tried to stop the child from crawling toward the well, the child would want to head toward it even more.

And so the Buddha didn’t try to grab the child, but instead said, “Here, lad! I have some candy in my hand!” The child immediately stopped crawled toward the well and turned around. He wanted the candy. Did the Buddha have candy in his hand? No, but it wouldn’t have been too late if he had gotten some candy for the child after he turned back. Was the Buddha lying to the child when he said he had candy in his hand when he actually didn’t? No. The Buddha was trying to save the child’s life, but he knew the child only cared about candy. You have to treat sentient beings in the same way. Give them whatever they like, and then gradually speak Dharma for them. That’s an expedient method.

Sutra:

Brahma King Still and Quiet Bright Eyes gained a passage into liberation of manifesting the different aspects of worldly karmic retributions.

Commentary:

The next Brahma King is named Still and Quiet Bright Eyes. He has gained a passage into liberation of manifesting the different aspects of worldly karmic retributions. What is meant by worldly karmic retributions? People in the world reap the results of whatever causes they create. If they plant good causes, they reap good results. If they plant evil causes, they reap evil results. Good causes and good results can lead people all the way up to the Four Dharma Realms of Sages, to become Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Sages Enlightened by Conditions, and Hearers. They can also be born in the heavens or the human realm, which is the reward of gods and people. On the other hand, evil causes lead to evil results, such as falling into the hells, turning into hungry ghosts, or becoming animals. Rewards and retributions are never off by a hair.

If you wish to know the causes you created in past lives,
Observe what you are undergoing in this life.
If you wish to know what results you’ll reap in the future,
Contemplate what you are doing in this life.

If you do many meritorious deeds, your future lives will be pleasant. If you create many offenses, however, then you may be reborn as a cow or a horse. If you do nothing but cheat people, you will be reborn as a chicken. Chickens become chickens because of their habit of lying. When hens lay eggs, they cry out, “Too big! Too big! My eggs are bigger than everyone else’s.” Or, this could mean, “They are the biggest!” [In Chinese, “too big” (guo da 過大) can be interpreted as meaning “big offenses,” and “the biggest” (zui da 最大) sounds the same as “massive transgressions.”] The hen doesn’t understand this, so she clucks to brag about her eggs, but when we hear her, we understand, “Ah, the chicken’s offenses are too big! Her transgressions are massive!” It’s the same when the Buddha sees sentient beings doing deluded things, and he thinks, “Ah, that’s how they are.”

That’s how the principle of cause and effect works in the world. For whatever karma you create, you will undergo the exact retribution, and it won’t be off by a hair. Each person’s karmic retribution has its own aspects. Every being also carries the mark of his own unique karmic retribution. For instance, pigs have the special appearance of their own karmic retribution, as do horses, and cows. If pigs are born among Muslims, they won’t be eaten.

The Hindu religion forbids the slaughtering of cows. Americans eat beef, but those of the Hindu religion consider cows to be sacred and don’t kill cattle. Those are examples of the different aspects of beings’ karmic retribution. There used to be many wild buffalo in America, but the European settlers exploited them, to the point that the native Americans could no longer find buffalo to eat. Now, if cattle are born in India, nobody will slaughter them for food. And so, although cattle in America and cattle in India may belong to the same species, the characteristics of their karmic retribution are different.

Some people are very wealthy, but childless. For instance, President Johnson didn’t have a son. Nixon was also President, but had no son. That’s a case of having an honored position, but no son. Other people have sons, but not honored positions. They don’t get to be president. Kennedy was the President, but he was assassinated. Such are the different causes and conditions of sentient beings. Every person has his own unique environment and circumstances. This Celestial King attained this samadhi of liberation.

Sutra:

Brahma King Pervasive Light gained a passage into liberation of appearing before the different categories of sentient beings accordingly, so as to tame and subdue them.

Commentary:

Brahma King Pervasive Light gained a passage into liberation of appearing before the different categories of sentient beings. There are various species of beings, all different from one another, and yet this Celestial King is capable of appearing before them all accordingly, so as to tame and subdue them. When he meets a tiger, he can appear as a tiger to tame and subdue tigers. When he meets dragons, he can appear as a dragon to tame and subdue dragons. When he encounters birds, he appears as a bird to teach them. He appears among different species of beings, assuming the same form as them, and guides them to make the resolve for bodhi and cultivate the Unsurpassed Way. He attained this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Brahma King Transforming Sounds gained a passage into liberation of residing in the purity of all dharmas and the state of quiescent practice.

Commentary:

Brahma King Transforming Sounds can effect millions of changes and transformations in his voice and sounds. He gained a passage into liberation of residing in the purity of all dharmas. He takes dharmas as his abode, and he has attained the pure, bright quality of dharmas and the state of quiescent practice. That’s a state of doing nothing and yet doing everything, a still and quiet state of effortless practice. He dwells in the dharma of nonobstruction and the state of quiescence.

Sutra:

Brahma King Dazzling Eyes gained a passage into liberation of being unattached to anything, boundless, independent, and always manifesting with diligence.

Commentary:

The next Brahma King is named Dazzling Eyes, because his light illumines sentient beings, enabling them to attain the Dharma-selecting eye and to distinguish the Dharma from what is not the Dharma. He gained a passage into liberation of being unattached to anything, boundless, independent. Having understood that the Buddha’s body resembles space, he is not attached to either existence or emptiness. Emptiness is nothing whatsoever, and existence means something exists. He is not attached to either of the extremes of emptiness and existence. The Buddha’s Dharma body resembles space; it is boundless and independent. It is like space, and space depends on nothing whatsoever.

This Brahma King is always manifesting with diligence. Although the Buddha resembles space, he constantly appears in the world. His resembling space does not imply that he is idle. Rather, the Buddha keeps appearing in the world. Why? Because sentient beings haven’t ended birth and death. Since they haven’t understood the matter of birth and death, the Buddha constantly appears in the world to teach and transform them, leading them from confusion to enlightenment, from suffering to joy. Brahma King Dazzling Eyes had such an awakening and attained such a samÁdhi of liberation.

Sutra:

Brahma King Pleasing, Ocean-like Sounds gained a passage into liberation of constantly reflecting upon and contemplating inexhaustible dharmas.

Commentary:

The next Brahma King is named Pleasing, Ocean-like Sounds. Beings are delighted to see him. When he teaches beings the Dharma, his mighty voice resembles the pure sound of the ocean tide. He gained a passage into liberation of constantly reflecting upon and contemplating inexhaustible dharmas. “Reflecting” refers to chan, or in Sanskrit, dhyana, which means “cultivation of reflection.” This Brahma King has acquired the reflective skill of dhyana-samadhi. He universally contemplates all worldly and world-transcending dharmas, which are unending and inconceivably wonderful. From within samadhi, he develops great wisdom and understands the true nature of all dharmas and the inconceivably wonderful principle underlying the inexhaustible treasury of Dharma. He gained this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

At that time, Great Brahma King Shikhinreceived the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated the multitudes of the Brahma Heavens—the Heavens of Brahma Ministers, the Heavens of Brahma Multitudes, and the Great Brahma Heavens—and spoke the following verse:

Commentary:

At that time, right after the Brahma King Pleasing, Ocean-like Sounds had understood his dharma door of constantly reflecting on and contemplating inexhaustible dharmas, Great Brahma King Shikhinreceived the Buddha’s awesome spiritual power, universally contemplated with his wisdom the multitudes of the Brahma Heavens—the Heavens of Brahma Ministers, the Heavens of Brahma Multitudes, and the Great Brahma Heavens. There were endless multitudes of gods from limitlessly many of these heavens. The Brahma King contemplated them and spoke the following verse to elucidate the true meaning of the Dharma.

Sutra:

The Buddha’s body is pure and ever quiescent.
His radiance shines on everyone in all worlds.
Without form, without action, and without any image or reflection,
Like a cloud in the sky: Perceive him thus.

Commentary:

This, the first of ten verses, is spoken by the Brahma Heaven King Sikhin. The Buddha’s body is pure and ever quiescent. Although it is pure and quiet, his radiance shines on everyone in all worlds, reaching all worlds. Does the Buddha’s body have form and appearance? No. It is without form, without action, without traces, and without any image or reflection. Then what is it like? Like a cloud in the sky: Perceive him thus. Although beings see clouds in the sky, the clouds do not remain unchanging. Momentarily they appear; then they are gone. Likewise, when the Buddha uses his light to illuminate the world, beings who are ready will receive the light. Those whose conditions are not yet mature won’t be aware of the Buddha’s light. The Buddha’s body is pure and quiescent, without form or action, like a cloud in the sky.

Sutra:

The state of concentration of the Buddha’s body,
Unfathomable by any sentient being,
Is revealed to them through inconceivable expedient methods.
King Wisdom Light enlightens thus.

Commentary:

As to the state of concentration of the Buddha’s body, it is simply thus, constantly abiding in great samadhi. The Buddha does not enter or leave concentration. There is neither motion nor stillness within this state of concentration. The Buddha never leaves his state of concentration. He remains in samadhi at all times, and his state is unfathomable by any sentient being. No one can understand or measure this state. It is revealed to them through inconceivable expedient methods.  He reveals this inconceivable expedient dharma door to beings, inspiring them to bring forth a great bodhi resolve and quickly realize Proper Enlightenment. Brahma King Wisdom Light enlightens thus. He understands this state.

Sutra:

Oceans of dharma doors, as many as motes of dust in Buddhalands,
Can be proclaimed completely in a single sentence.
Yet oceans of eons would not be time enough to describe them all.
Light of Wholesome Reflective Wisdom is liberated thus.

Commentary:

Oceans of dharma doors are as many as motes of dust in Buddhalands. This refers not just to one Buddhaland, but to the Buddhalands of the ten directions. How many lands are there? As many as there are dust motes. And that means not just motes of dust in one world, but all the dust motes in space throughout the Dharma Realm. There are that many of what? There are that many oceans of dharma doors. Each dust mote can become an ocean, and each ocean contains countless oceans of dharma doors. Just how many are there? It would be an infinite number. There are so many dharma doors that they are unending, layer upon layer, and there is no way to describe them exhaustively.

And yet, if we were to sum them up, they can be proclaimed completely in a single sentence. What is this single sentence? It is the Character of Reality. The Character of Reality is without character, and yet there is nothing that is uncharacterized by it. That sums them up in one statement. The Character of Reality includes all dharma doors. You could also call it “True Suchness” or “Buddha nature,” because all dharma doors flow forth from the Buddha nature. One sentence alone can encompass all the infinitely many dharma doors.

Yet, although one sentence can sum them up, oceans of eons would not be time enough to describe them all. Since dharma doors are as numerous as dust motes, even if one were to expound them to the ends of time, still one couldn’t finish talking about them. This is speaking in terms of expedients. Whereas the preceding line refers to the Character of Reality, of which nothing can be said, this line refers to the provisional teaching. These dharma doors can be expounded endlessly throughout oceans of eons in the past, the present, and the future.

The preceding line says that everything can be proclaimed in a single sentence, and yet this line says that there is no way to finish speaking. Isn’t that a contradiction? No. The preceding line speaks in terms of the Character of Reality, and so everything can be said in one sentence. This following line speaks in terms of the provisional teaching, and so there are endless things to say. The former line refers to the general principle, which can be summed up in a sentence; the latter line refers to the specific instances, which could never be fully described. Also, we could say that the former line refers to the Apparent Teaching, which can be described in one sentence. But the Secret Teaching encompasses limitless meanings, which could never be completely discussed.

There are various ways to explain this passage. Someone also brought up this point: Before entering nirvana, the Buddha declared that he had not spoken a single sentence in his entire life. You could explain it that way. However, the Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken when the Buddha first realized the Way, long before he entered nirvana.

Light of Wholesome Reflective Wisdom is liberated thus. This Brahma King spoke this verse because he understood this state. Each of you who are studying the Buddhadharma might write a verse in praise of a certain sutra, a certain Buddha, a certain Bodhisattva, or a certain good advisor. You may all praise the same Buddha, Bodhisattva, or good advisor, but your viewpoints will all be different.

Maybe one person will praise Guanshiyin Bodhisattva for rescuing beings from seven types of difficulty, responding to their two requests, and having fourteen kinds of fearlessnesses, nineteen ways of speaking Dharma, thirty-two response bodies, and so on. Another person may laud other aspects of the Bodhisattva. Each person praises the Bodhisattva from a different angle. Your verses may be different, yet your principles are all correct. Each person has his or her own principle and insight. This illustrates the point in terms of us common people. Brahma Kings, however, are sages manifesting as gods, and they see inconceivable states of the Buddhas.

This four-line verse extols the inconceivability of the Dharma. This Brahma King is skilled in reflection. Since he reflects on wonderful states, the verses he utters are inconceivable. Moreover, since he possesses wisdom-light, the Dharma he speaks is not easy to understand.

He says, “Take a look. The Buddhadharma is as expansive as oceans of dust motes. If each dust mote were to become an ocean, how many oceans would there be? Although there are that many oceans, a single sentence can completely encompass all dharma doors.” How could that be possible? But he says it is so.

Then he says: If you were to expound the Dharma to the ends of time, you would still not be able to finish expounding it all. This confounds you even more. His purpose is to confound you and cause you to wonder.

Sutra:

The Buddhas’ perfect voice reaches equally to all in the world.
Each being attains insight according to its kind,
And yet the sound causes no discriminations.
Brahma King Universal Sound awakens thus.

Commentary:

The Buddhas’ perfect voice reaches equally to all in the world. The Buddhas have a perfect, full sound. No matter which kind of being hears that sound, he will invariably awaken to the Way and end birth and death. Each being attains insight according to its kind. When beings of the nine Dharma Realms hear the sound of the Buddha’s voice, they can increase their good roots, leave confusion and return to enlightenment, and awaken to the Way.

Beings of every kind, upon hearing the Buddha’s voice, feel that the Buddha is speaking directly to them. They hear the Dharma and become enlightened. And yet the sound causes no discriminations. When they hear the Buddha’s voice, their minds naturally believe and accept what they hear, and they have no doubts or discriminations. Brahma King Universal Sound awakens thus. He understands this principle.

Sutra:

All Thus Come Ones in the three periods of time
Progress towards bodhi through expedient practices.
Everything culminates with the realization of Buddhahood.
The god Freedom with Sounds is liberated thus.

Commentary:

All the infinitely many Thus Come Ones in the three periods of time—the past, present, and future—progress towards bodhi through expedient practices. At the outset of their cultivation of the path of enlightenment, they adopt various expedient means and in the end, they finally become Buddhas. The ultimate goal of their cultivation is to become Buddhas. Everything culminates with the realization of Buddhahood. They finally attain the ultimate, perfect enlightenment. The god Freedom with Sounds is liberated thus. Brahma King Freely Contemplating the Sounds and Speech in the World attained this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

Sentient beings all have their own distinct karma.
According to their causes, various results occur.
The Buddhas make clear that this is the nature of the world.
The god Still and Quiet Brightness awakens thus.

Commentary:

Sentient beings all have their own distinct karma. Sentient beings’ karmic retributions are each different. According to their causes, various results occur. Beings reap the results of whatever causes they create. “If you kill someone’s father, someone will kill your father. If you kill someone’s brother, someone will kill your brother.” If you break the precept against killing and engage in the karma of killing, in the future, you will be killed. If you engage in excessive killing, you will suffer much illness and be killed in retribution. The same principle applies to stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and taking intoxicants. You will undergo the consequences of whatever karma you create. Each being’s karmic retributions are unique.

The Buddhas make clear that this is the nature of the world. That’s how the karmic retribution of the world is. The cause determines the result. The karma has its corresponding retribution. The Buddhas make these kinds of states appear to counteract the karmic retributions of sentient beings. When sentient beings see such states, they awaken and resolve to seek the unsurpassed Way. The god Still and Quiet Brightness awakens thus. He understands this state and the principle behind it.

Sutra:

At ease with countless dharma doors,
He tames sentient beings throughout the ten directions,
Without discriminating among them.
Such is the state of Pervasive Light.

Commentary:

He is at ease with countless dharma doors. Having attained countless dharma doors, Brahma King Pervasive Light is able to freely speak Dharma in ease and comfort. He employs the two methods of subduing and gathering in beings. Beings, fearing his awesome virtue, are tamed and subdued. That’s the method of subduing. Gathering in means influencing people through the use of kindness, compassion, and virtue, and drawing them in.

He uses these dharma doors and tames sentient beings throughout the ten directions, / Without discriminating among them. He teaches and transforms beings without discriminating among them. He doesn’t think, “This being is good, so I will save him. That being is evil, so I won’t save him. This being has affinities with me, so I will save him. That one has no affinities with me, so I won’t save him.” He doesn’t make such discriminations. He treats them equally with kindness and compassion. He does not discriminate among the various categories of beings. Such is the state of Brahma King Pervasive Light.

Sutra:

The Buddha’s body is as infinite as the void.
Formless and unobstructed, it pervades the ten directions.
All his manifestations resemble illusions.
King Transforming Sounds enlightens to this path.

Commentary:

If people wish to know the Buddha’s state,
They should make their minds pure like space.

These are two lines from the sutra. Now, this verse says: The Buddha’s body is as infinite as the void. The Buddha’s body resembles space, yet it is inexhaustible. Space is empty and has nothing in it. The Buddha’s body, though it resembles space, is not a total void. And yet, the Buddha’s body is formless. It has no appearance, and therefore it is unobstructed. If the Buddha’s body had form and appearance, it would be obstructed. But since it is without form—since the mind has been subdued and forms are left behind—there is no obstruction. Although it is formless, it pervades the ten directions; although it pervades the ten directions, it has no form.

All his manifestations resemble illusions. All of the Buddha’s manifestations are illusory transformations, like the reflection of the moon in a thousand streams.

King Transforming Sounds enlightens to this path. This Brahma Heaven King understands this principle.

Sutra:

The Thus Come One’s physical form is boundless.
So, too, are his wisdom and the sound of his voice.
Abiding in the world and displaying his form, he has no attachments.

Celestial King Dazzling Light enters this passage.

Commentary:

Brahma Heaven King Dazzling Eyes spoke this verse: The Thus Come One’s physical form is boundless. The Thus Come One’s body pervades space and the Dharma Realm. It has no boundaries and no place of reliance. It is attached neither to existence nor to emptiness. Apart from both existence and emptiness, it reveals the Middle Way. So, too, are his wisdom and the sound of his voice. Not only is the Thus Come One’s physical form boundless, his wisdom and his sounds are boundless, too.

One time, Mahamaudgalyayana traveled east by means of his spiritual powers, passing through countlessly many Buddhalands, trying to find where the sound of the Buddha’s voice would come to an end. But he could find no such place. No matter how far he traveled, he could still hear the Buddha’s sound, as if the Buddha were right before him. The Thus Come Ones are also without boundaries.

Abiding in the world and displaying his form, he has no attachments. The Buddha appears in the world and speaks Dharma to teach and transform beings. But he is not attached. He has left all attachments behind. It’s only because the Buddha has separated from attachments that he is a Buddha. Otherwise he could not have become a Buddha. Celestial King Dazzling Light enters this passage. He has understood this passage into liberation.

Sutra:

The Dharma King settles in the Wondrous Dharma Palace.
The light of his Dharma body shines on all.
The Dharma nature is incomparable and devoid of form.
This is the liberation of King Ocean-like Sounds.

Commentary:

This verse was spoken by Brahma King Pleasing, Ocean-like Sounds, who has attained the passage into liberation of constantly reflecting on and contemplating inexhaustible dharmas. What does he reflect on? He reflects on the Buddha, the Dharma King who has attained self-mastery with regard to the Dharma. The Dharma King settles in the Wondrous Dharma Palace. The Dharma King, the Buddha, lives in the palace of wonderful Dharma. The light of his Dharma body shines on all. The light from the Buddha’s Dharma body pervasively illumines all Buddhalands. The Dharma nature is incomparable. Nothing can match it, and it is devoid of form. Dharma nature is merely a name; it has no appearance. Although it is a name, the Dharma nature fills the Dharma Realm. No other state can compare with it. This is the liberation of King Ocean-like Sounds. Brahma King Pleasing, Ocean-like Sounds gained understanding through this passage into liberation.

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